Google to abandon support for older browsers

Can’t say we didn’t see this coming, but Google has announced that it will be phasing out support for older browsers beginning August 1. Initially it will start with the loss of certain features, but it will eventually turn into loss of those web services altogether.

Google wants to take full advantage of HTML5 technology, and older browsers such as Internet Explorer 7, Safari 3, Firefox 3.5 and their predecessors just don’t have the capability to do so. Companies have been trying to kill off older versions of their browsers for some time now, and Google’s refusal to support older browsers should give people a wakeup call. After all, what better way to realize you need a browser upgrade when you can’t check your Gmail account with your current one?

While Google won’t be programming their services to not work with old browsers – they just won’t be doing any testing with them, so if you have a problem accessing a Google site from your browser – you’re on your own unless you upgrade.

With web browsers being free and easily available on the internet, it makes you wonder why people are still stuck running outdated software. Your thoughts?